French Open: Frances Tiafoe secures lost racket after promising 2 tickets to fan who returned it in wake of second-round win
American Frances Tiafoe was hyped after finishing off Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in five sets on Thursday in the second round of the French Open. Following the 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 victory — which the 19th-seeded Tiafoe punctuated with a forehand winner on a break, set and match point — he greeted a jubilant swarm of fans at Roland-Garros.
Tiafoe hugged fans while bouncing up and down with the crowd. He emerged from the embrace without his racket.
Then, shortly after dapping up Hurkacz and shaking hands with the chair umpire, Tiafoe ripped his shirt off and let out a roar. Continuing to take in the moment, the 28-year-old two-time US Open semifinalist flexed to a symphony of cheers and whistles.
Tiafoe had outlasted Hurkacz in a grueling match that lasted 4 hours and 43 minutes amid the heat wave that has enveloped Paris this week.
Afterward, he took to social media in search of the racket he lost in the euphoric chaos.
“Unreal atmosphere on Court 14 today,” Tiafoe wrote in a post-match Instagram story on Thursday. “But I must say to the fan who took my racket at the end when I was celebrating with y’all. Can I please have it back … I’ll bless you with two tickets for my next match.”
After providing instructions for how to complete the exchange, Tiafoe ended that message by writing, “thanks for the love y’all.”
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Later, in an interview with TNT Sports, Tiafoe said he had secured the racket. He walked the TNT crew through his sudden realization that he was missing something as he was walking off the court.
“I was like, ‘Wait, I think I’m down a racket,’” he said.
Tiafoe, laughing, continued: “I was like, ‘I think a fan got my racket.’”
He explained that someone on his team asked if he wanted to post about it on Instagram in attempt to retrieve it. Tiafoe agreed, thinking it’d be funny.
“Here, I’ll get it. In the States, I’m not getting it,” he said of his mindset before firing off the IG story.
The culprit was a lady who seized the racket, as TNT showed in slow-mo. Relishing his victory and leaning in to his sense of humor, Tiafoe took the whole situation in stride.
He shared that he travels with eight rackets. So why is this one so important?
“I mean, I won the match with it,” he said, drawing laughter from the desk of media members.
Tiafoe will face Portugal’s Jaime Faria in the third round on Saturday. With world No. 1 Jannik Sinner already out and his rival, Carlos Alcaraz, not competing due to a wrist injury, the bracket is becoming increasingly open at Roland-Garros.
